By Jenna Murphy
HALIFAX, May 13, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Aggressive pro-abortion demonstrators made physical attempts to shut down Nova Scotia’s first annual “March for Life” Thursday. Beginning with an evening candle-lit prayer vigil on Wednesday May 7th, 2008 followed by a demonstration on Thursday the event was organized and co-sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, the Catholic Women’s League and the Campaign Life Coalition. The roughly 90 March for Life participants were infiltrated on both occasions by several pro-abortion activists.
In the coverage following the event, a reporter with the Chronicle Herald (local Halifax paper) wrote erroneously that the rally was in promotion of the Unborn Victims of Crime Bill C-484 rather than the commemoration of the legalization of abortion in 1969 and the millions of Canadian unborn children who have died as a result.
In a May 9th article entitled “Taking it to the Streets: Pro-choice, Pro-life Groups Square Off Over Fetus Bill” a Chronicle Herald reporter wrote at length about the stance of pro-abortion activists and their opposition to Bill C-484. The “March for Life” demonstration was presented as being an explicitly political endeavor with the bill as its central focus. While the pro-abortion perspective was given much play, pro-life leaders were not contacted for comment.
“The event ‘March for Life Nova Scotia’ was a peaceful rally to memorialize the anniversary (May 1969) when the abortion law was struck down in Canada. This WAS NOT a rally to oppose Bill C-484, contrary to what [was] written”, said Executive Director of Campaign Life Coalition Ellen Chesal.
Though security and permission for the event had been obtained, both the evening prayer vigil on May 7th and the ‘March for Life’ annual event on the following day were met with aggressive confrontation from pro-abortion activists.
The pro-abortion demonstrators appeared on the scene with signs reading “My body my choice”, and “Pro-woman, pro-choice”. They attempted to block the procession physically and then proceeded to kick signs over and hold sheets and blankets over the pro-life placards in an attempt to block the signs from view, according to witnesses.
This is not the first time that pro-life demonstrators in Halifax have been accosted by pro-abortion groups. Similar attempts at shutting down pro-life demonstrations have been made in the past with the same ‘bed sheet tactics’ in an attempt to curtail the message being presented by the pro-life signage and the presence of pro-life demonstrators.
“It’s disheartening and chilling to discover that there is no freedom of speech here in Nova Scotia”, said Chesal.
Campaign life Coalition’s Nova Scotia President Herm Wills is actively seeking rectification and clarification in response to the Chronicle Herald’s false reporting on the March for Life event of May 8th. “I would like for the Herald to sit down with us and discuss the issues calmly and retract that horrible coverage and do what is right and cover the issue and not the event that was hijacked by the mob and the reporter”.
Any comments surrounding the Halifax “March for Life” coverage article of May 9th, 2008 may be directed to:
Dan Leger
Director of News Content
Chronicle Herald
[email protected]
OR:
Bev Dauphinee
Letters Editor
(902) 426-2811 ext 2839